The high-fat, low-carbohydrate ketogenic diet (KD) has been used to treat epilepsy successfully for nearly 100 years and it remains an important clinical option for refractory seizures in adults and children. Whereas it declined in popularity with the advent and evolution of pharmacological therapies, clinical use of the ketogenic diet and basic research into its underlying mechanisms experienced a major resurgence in recent years. This renewed interest in the ketogenic diet is due to high profile cases where the diet was remarkable successful, continued inadequacy of available therapies for up to 30% of patients with epilepsy, general popularity of and interest in diet-based approaches, and increasing recognition that metabolic therapies like the KD have clinical relevance and untapped potential extending well beyond epilepsy. Recent clinical and experimental evidence has shown that a KD and similar dietary and metabolic strategies have significant promise in treating diverse neurological and non-neurological disorders. The Fifth Global Symposium on Ketogenic Therapies is part of a successful and evolving series of global symposia. The first in the series, the International Symposium on Dietary Therapies for Epilepsy and Other Neurological Disorders, held in Phoenix, Arizona (2008), was supported by NIH and became the first in this biennial series. The first symposium established a high level of science and participation for subsequent successful global symposia in 2010 (Edinburgh), 2012 (Chicago) and 2014 (Liverpool). It also established a collaborative spirit and common purpose, particularly since dietary therapy is known to be highly effective. Now, the Fifth Global Symposium on Ketogenic Therapies (Banff, 2016) represents another leap forward for the field: while one focus remains on ketogenic therapy for epilepsy, a strong emphasis will be placed on the emerging links between metabolism and epigenetics, and the program will delve into metabolic therapy for brain cancer, autism spectrum disorder and cognitive disorders such as Alzheimer's disease. We also focus on bringing young professionals into the field, and, like previous symposia, offer all attendees a collaborative spirit and motivation to further leverage this successful therapy. There will be ample time for attendee engagement and group discussions, a well-received feature of previous symposia. The faculty and moderators are all internationally recognized experts and the fifth global symposium is unquestionably the definitive global venue for metabolism-based therapies for neurological disorders.